Countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region are highly vulnerable to a range of natural hazards, including droughts, earthquakes, forest fires, floods, hurricanes, and volcanic eruptions. Between FY 2007 and FY 2016, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/ OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/ FFP) provided humanitarian assistance in response to a diverse range of natural disasters in the region.

The impact of the 2015‒2016 El Niño weather phenomenon has been one of the most intense and widespread in the past one hundred years. The agriculture, food security and nutritional status of 60 million people around the globe is affected by El Niño-related droughts, floods and extreme hot and cold weather. While the El Niño itself has passed its peak and is now declining, its impact is still growing. Harvests in several parts of the world have already failed and are forecast to fail in other areas.

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are highly vulnerable to a range of natural hazards, including droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions. Some countries have also suffered civil unrest and associated humanitarian impacts.